John F. Kennedy

Tuesday

Mar 14, 2017 at 2:19 PMMar 16, 2017 at 2:04 PM

Background/Early Life• John F. Kennedy grew up in a wealthy family in Massachusetts. He battled various illnesses in his youth, some of which continued to bother him into adulthood, but after graduating from Harvard University he was well enough to join the U.S. Navy in World War II. He was awarded the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Medal for Valor and a Purple Heart for his actions in the war.• Kennedy served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate before running for president in 1960 at age 43. How he defined the office• Some of Kennedy’s biggest impacts on the office of the presidency came during his campaign: He worked to reassure voters that his religion — Roman Catholic — wouldn’t influence his work as president, and he spoke about the topic often. Kennedy and Richard Nixon participated in four debates that were broadcast live on national television. This became common practice in elections that followed, but was the first time television was used extensively. It worked to Kennedy’s advantage: Listeners to the first debate on radio thought Nixon had won, but the way the two candidates appeared on television left viewers more impressed by Kennedy.Successes and failures• Kennedy’s domestic agenda was dominated by civil rights issues. He wanted to wait until his second term to send a civil rights bill to Congress, but a series of events forced him to do that shortly before his death. While Kennedy was in office, he ordered federal marshals to accompany James Meredith, a black man who was trying to enroll at the traditionally white University of Mississippi, to the campus in 1962, and a violent riot broke out. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led the March on Washington in 1963 that featured his “I Have A Dream” speech. Four children were killed in a racially motivated church bombing in 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama.• The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a failed attempt to overthrow Communist Cuban leader Fidel Castro. It took place just two months into Kennedy’s presidency, and the next year Cuba figured prominently again when the Soviet Union brought missiles and troops to the island, targeting the United States. Kennedy’s administration reached a deal with the Soviet Union before the end of 1962. • Kennedy’s two years in office were marked by unfinished business: He created the Peace Corps. He was a big supporter of the space program and laid the groundwork for the moon landing that took place in 1969. He increased the United States’ presence in Vietnam.• Kennedy was shot and killed Nov. 22, 1963, as his motorcade drove through Dallas, Texas.notable quote• “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” — from his inaugural address Jan. 20, 1961.

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